Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his entourage, who are in New York, have not received any contact from fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho, an aide to the premier has confirmed.

“All meetings here are requested by the people who want to meet him (Mahathir). The prime minister has Wisma Putra to handle and arrange it.

“What we know so far (is that) Low has not come into contact with any of us here in New York,” the prime minister's media aide Endie Shazlie told Malaysiakini when contacted.

In an interview, Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World co-author Tom Wright claimed that Low, despite being on the run, had offered to “help the government” with their meetings in the US.

Mahathir is leading a delegation from Malaysia to attend the 73rd UN general assembly which begins tomorrow and ends on Saturday.

The premier is slated to meet UK prime minister Theresa May, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, as well as US entrepreneurs and potential investors.

He will also attend meetings hosted by JP Morgan and New York’s Asia Society.

Pua: Low a wheeler-dealer

Met at the official launch of Billion Dollar Whale today, Damansara MP Tony Pua stressed that the government should not consider any assistance from Low.

“No, not at all. (His help) is not even to be considered.

“I am not surprised (he is trying to negotiate with the government). He is a wheeler-dealer, a survivor. He will do everything he can do to get out of jail,” he told the media in Kuala Lumpur.

During the launch, Wright quashed a claim that his book, which focuses on Low’s role in the 1MDB affair, showed that former premier Najib Abdul Razak had been misled and had not committed any wrong.

This was previously put forward by lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing Najib in his slew of 1MDB-related charges.

“1MDB and the scandal would not have happened without Low. But I don’t think it is right (to say) the book absolves Najib of any blame. He is there... and he is an enabler of Low.

“Without Najib, there is no Low. Because Low is invoking the (former) PM’s name at every turn. He is saying ‘PM wants this, big boss wants that’, that is how Low operated,” the a Wall Street Journal reporter said during a question-and-answer session.

'Lessons to be learned'

Also at the launch was former minister Rafidah Aziz, who said she was happy that something good had come out of the 1MDB scandal.

“Surely what has happened in this saga... would teach us a lot of lessons, not just Malaysia but for the world at large.

“Lessons on how not to allow greed and avarice to take over our lives. Secondly, lessons on holding the people’s trust in you.

“When people don’t do that, the whole country (will) vote in a new government,” she said.

Wright and fellow WSJ reporter Bradley Hope spent three years researching and writing Billion Dollar Whale based on their reporting of the 1MDB scandal.

They are now in talks for a movie deal.

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